The Gravity of Grace: Cultivating Dignity in an Age of Impatience

• Kingdom Culture [00:56:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines kingdom culture as the behavior, beliefs, and actions of the cult/people, specifically focusing on developing Christ-like character within the church.
• Christian Distinctiveness [00:58:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Christians must live differently than the world, renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.
• Redemption and Holiness [00:59:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that Christ died not just to save from hell, but to redeem a distinct people and purify them for Himself, making them zealous for good works.
• Experiential Change [01:01:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that becoming a Christian involves an experiential change where the believer is saved for the purpose of holiness, resulting in a transformation that makes them seem like a different person.
• Holiness and Redemption [00:59:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Christ's death was intended to make believers holy and spotless, likening the church to a bride and believers to a new exodus people called out of bondage.
• Experiential Change and Regeneration [01:01:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes conversion as an internal, experiential change ('new creation') effected by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, citing Ezekiel and Titus.
• Transformation vs. Behavioral Modification [01:06:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts Christian transformation (becoming Christ-like) with cultic or false religious behavioral modification, emphasizing that Christian imperatives are 'being verbs'.
• Distinct Sanctification and Cultural Counter-Offensive [01:08:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that sanctification looks different based on gender and station, contrasting this with modern post-modern views of equity and victimhood, citing Carl Trueman.
• Qualities of Older Men [01:12:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor begins a detailed exposition of the six qualities for older men, starting with 'sober-minded' (alertness, avoidance of drunkenness) and 'dignified' (seriousness, weightiness from time with God).
• Dignity and Spiritual Seriousness [01:17:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines dignity as a 'seriousness' and 'weightiness' derived from spending time with God, distinguishing it from gloominess, and cites Moses, Elijah, and Paul as examples of men marked by this gravity.
• The Role of Prayer [01:20:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > Prayer is defined not as asking for things but as entering into God's presence and communing with Him, which is the mechanism for developing spiritual seriousness and dignity.
• Self-Control and Habits [01:24:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > Self-control is presented as a universal Christian quality involving the ability to control desires and actions, linked to the development of good habits and the rejection of bad ones, illustrated by references to 'Atomic Habits' and 'Grit'.
• Practical Steps for Sanctification [01:28:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines four (plus one bonus) steps to achieve self-control: relying on God's power through prayer, identifying and putting sin to death, putting on Christ (positive virtues), and renewing the mind through Scripture.
• Soundness in Faith and Love [01:32:43 ▶️ 📄]
  > Faith is gauged by its object (correct doctrine) and the strength of convictions, while love is gauged by its object (God) and the degree of affection, warning against 'dead orthodoxy' where love has grown cold.
• Wisdom and Application [01:33:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines wisdom as knowing the truth and applying it, warning against 'dead orthodoxy' where love for Christ has grown cold.
• Soundness in Love [01:34:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that older men must exemplify love for God, self, and the church, gauged by what they love and the degree of that love, citing Matthew 22:37 and Revelation 2.
• Stirring Affections [01:37:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses how to increase love when it feels cold by reflecting on God's redeeming love for us, citing Jonathan Edwards on the supernatural principle of love to the unseen Christ.
• Steadfastness and Endurance [01:38:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines steadfastness as fortitude and patience, using a personal anecdote about aging and frustration to illustrate the need for older men to model endurance through trust in God's sovereignty.

• Sermon Illustration [01:01:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a conversation with a woman who, after becoming a Christian, felt like she was a different person, illustrating the experiential change that takes place in a believer's life.
• Sermon Illustration [01:02:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a conversation with a woman who felt that after becoming a Christian, 'even the stars were brighter,' illustrating the experiential change of a new creation.
• Sermon Illustration [01:13:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the Roman god Dionysius and pagan feasts in Crete to explain the historical context of drunkenness associated with idolatry, contrasting it with the call to sober-mindedness.
• Sermon Illustration [01:19:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor cites Moses coming down from the mountain with a shining face to illustrate how spending time with God imparts a 'gravity and weightiness' or dignity to a person's life.
• Sermon Illustration [01:21:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the story of Oswald Chambers, who heard Charles Spurgeon preach as a boy, gave his life to Christ, became an art teacher, then a missionary and chaplain in WWI, and died in Egypt in 1917 after developing appendicitis rather than taking a cot from the wounded.
• Sermon Illustration [01:39:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about how aging has made him more frustrated by minor inconveniences, such as running out of coffee, contrasting this with the patience of youth to illustrate the need for steadfastness.
• Sermon Illustration [01:38:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor quotes Jonathan Edwards describing early Christians who had a supernatural principle of love to the unseen Jesus, influencing them despite not seeing him with bodily eyes.

• Pastoral Charge [01:03:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down the reference to Ezekiel 36 for later study.
• Pastoral Charge [01:16:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > Engage in daily, hourly renewal of the mind through Scripture and godly media.
• Pastoral Charge [01:17:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > Evaluate and curate media intake (watching, listening) to ensure it supports spiritual renewal.
• Pastoral Charge [01:25:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stop speaking ill of others.
• Pastoral Charge [01:31:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > Seek accountability from a trusted member of the opposite sex.
• Pastoral Charge [01:31:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > Memorize and meditate on Scripture to renew the mind.
• Pastoral Charge [01:42:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor prays for older men to embody specific spiritual qualities and serve as a protective example and bulwark for the church.

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:09:28] A little bit of a vacation and a little bit of speaking at a conference for pastors and leaders in Wittenberg, Germany.
[00:09:37] Just a great opportunity to fellowship and be with fellow servants of the Lord in Europe.
[00:09:45] So it's good to be back with you this morning in the land of air conditioning.
[00:09:49] In 1 Peter 2 we read this, For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you.
[00:10:04] leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps who did no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth who being reviled was not reviling in return while suffering he was uttering no threats
[00:10:22] but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that having died to sin, we might live to righteousness.
[00:10:42] By his wounds, you were healed.
[00:10:45] For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
[00:10:56] This is our Savior.
[00:10:58] Let's bow and just spend a moment in confession and prayer as we come to worship.
[00:11:04] Thomas Watson prayed, may our obedience be in and through Christ in every part of our worship may we present Christ back to you in the arms of our faith may we love you with a holy love
[00:11:34] a holy fire kindled in the affections carrying us out strongly after you as our supreme good may your spirit shine upon our understanding revealing the beauty of your wisdom holiness and mercy that these may be the magnet drawing out our love for you
[00:11:58] in our love for you may we desire communion with you may we hate the sin that separates us from you may we grieve those things which grieve you may we labor to render you lovely to others
[00:12:17] may we be willing to do and suffer for you subscribing to your commands and submitting to your will Father as we gaze upon our Savior this morning remind us of his great love his love for you that resulted in his
[00:12:43] supreme obedience to your will and Father within us kindle the love that we have for both you and our redeemer as we adore you and magnify you with the praise that comes from our mouths and from our hearts and we ask this in Jesus name amen if you
[00:13:09] would take your hymnal this morning and turn to number 314 as we join together and sing of our Savior, all hail the power of Jesus' name. Let's stand together as we sing.

[00:13:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:13:22] Elders, and I'm going to read through with you the Heidelberg Catechism this morning.

[00:17:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:17:44] And as you know, it's in your bulletin and also be behind me on the screen. So as I've mentioned before, and for any guests that are here this morning, the Heidelberg Catechism was written over 450 years ago, back in the 1500s, and it was a document written to train students
[00:18:06] of the truths of the scriptures. So as fellow students, read with me. I'll read the question and then we'll read the answer together. Question 59. What good does it do you, however, to believe all this. In Christ, I am right with God and heir to life everlasting. Question 60. How are you right
[00:18:35] with God?

[00:18:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:18:36] Only by faith. Even though my conscience accuses me of having previously sinned against all God's commandments, and have never, ever kept any of them.
[00:18:52] To me, the Lord is still in Christ, and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned, nor been a sinner, as if I had been perfectly redeemed, so to me, the Lord would never leave me.
[00:19:28] And question 61. Why do you say that by faith alone you are right with God? Thank you.

[00:20:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:20:02] Well, thank you, Randy, for leading us in there. And good morning, King's Chapel. We are so glad that you're here with us today and worshiping with us, and it is our privilege to welcome you.
[00:20:22] and if you are a guest with us this morning and I have been able to meet several of you already we're thrilled that you're here with us and that you've chosen to worship with us this morning and
[00:20:33] if you are a guest or if you have not been here in a while there is a connect card in the back of your pew and if you would wouldn't mind if you would take that fill that out for us give us a
[00:20:46] little information about you. On the back of that card is a place where you might put a prayer request or ask a question about anything about the church, about our life groups that are happening
[00:20:59] now on Sunday mornings again, and anything that you might want to ask the elders or the staff about, we would love to hear from you and we'd love to be able to pray for those requests if
[00:21:10] you put those in. Again, we want to welcome you this morning. I also want to bring your attention in your bulletin, which you received when you walked in. There are several announcements that I'd like to highlight this morning. A lot of good things are going on here at the King's Chapel.
[00:21:25] The first one is to make you aware on Sunday mornings now during the month of June at nine o'clock in the fellowship hall, we are having our life groups. All of our life groups are meeting
[00:21:37] together as one big group. And we have four different teachers who will be teaching each Sunday an individual class so you'll enjoy that and if you were not able to make it this morning for our class number one you missed a really great one and so please pay attention to those
[00:21:57] those classes are in a bulletin insert in inside your bulletin if you look at those you will see each week who will be teaching and the topic that they will be teaching this is all during the month
[00:22:08] of June so we want to make sure that you are here for that also just want to make you aware of the men's breakfast that is coming up which is next saturday morning uh that will be at 8 30 pastor
[00:22:18] grant will be the speaker at the men's breakfast next week so in case you've never heard him this will be a great chance for you to come and uh and hear grant speak to the men of the church on
[00:22:29] saturday morning we'll give you a great breakfast and you'll hear a great message as well also next week i just want to make you aware that we are having our starting point class for those of you
[00:22:40] who are interested in knowing about the King's Chapel, knowing about what we believe and how we believe and how we can teach that, but also just if you want to know more information about the
[00:22:52] church. This is a great place to start if you're interested in membership. And next Sunday we have the opportunity we'll have in our starting point class at 9 a.m. in the morning. It will conflict
[00:23:03] a little bit with the classes going on, but we will make arrangements for that. But we will have that at nine o'clock. And then in the afternoon, Sunday afternoon, we actually have a membership class. So for those who have gone through starting point and are ready to join, we're having our
[00:23:19] membership class. So if you've completed those requirements for membership, you will need to come at four o'clock in the afternoon for the membership class. Now, if you play your cards right, you could knock out both of those on the same day. You could come to starting point in the
[00:23:33] morning, membership class in the afternoon, and you could be a member there. But talk with us and we'll see how that works out. I also want to make you aware that we are getting prepared
[00:23:42] for Vacation Bible School. That will be coming up in a couple of weeks. That is June the 22nd through the 25th, and we're looking at Emerald Crossing for the children and the Highland Hearth for the students. So we're excited about that coming week. It'll be a lot of fun. We still
[00:24:00] need some volunteers, but most importantly, tomorrow the registration closes. So if you have not registered your child, you need to do that today or by tomorrow. And then that way we can get prepared and get the classes assigned and get everything ready for you for Vacation Bible
[00:24:16] School. And one more announcement, probably most importantly, tonight at six o'clock we will have our family meeting. This is our annual, yearly annual business meeting of the church. Tonight We will be discussing the financial reports.
[00:24:34] We'll be discussing the upcoming budget.
[00:24:37] We'll be voting on the officers for the new year.
[00:24:39] You'll hear ministry reports about what is going on here at the King's Chapel.
[00:24:43] It will be a great meeting, and we don't want you to miss it.
[00:24:46] It's good information.
[00:24:47] So please come back at 6 o'clock right here in this room, and we will have our time of family meeting and fellowship and worship and business.
[00:24:57] So please put that on your calendar.
[00:25:00] to attend tonight at six o'clock. Again, thank you for your attention to those announcements.
[00:25:06] And now at this time, I'm going to ask our ushers that they will come forward to receive our offering this morning. And if you filled out that Connect card, please place that in the offering
[00:25:16] plate as it comes by. But will you pray with me as the ushers come and prepare for the offering?
[00:25:25] Our Heavenly Father, Lord, we do just thank you for the incredible gift of worship.
[00:25:28] because through worship Lord we are drawn into your presence and we come before you this Lord's day with with prayers of praise and singing lifting our voices to honor you and to adore you and with the reading of scripture and the preaching of the word father we come before
[00:25:45] you with our prayers of praise and adoration for your holiness for your greatness for your loving kindness to all of those who call upon your name father we thank you for your unconditional love for us. And we see your hand of work in this church. And we ask that your blessings will be
[00:26:03] on this church. And we pray that this may be a place where people who love you can come and be edified in Christ, who can grow in maturity in Christ. And we thank you for your amazing
[00:26:14] sacrifice on the cross, that you are interceding on our behalf, not counting our trespasses against us, and we thank you that the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we may
[00:26:29] be attributed with your righteousness, and we may have the privilege of coming before you and becoming before your throne on this day. Lord, we ask that you be with Pastor Grant as he preaches your word. We pray that you would give him boldness and clarity as he brings the message that you have
[00:26:45] laid upon his heart, and may everything that is done and said here today be for the exaltation of your great name and for the sake of Christ. And Lord, as we receive our tithes and offerings
[00:26:56] this morning, may they be used to glorify you, to glorify your work in this church and in this city and around the globe. Lord, we thank you, we love you, and we praise you today in Christ's name.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:27:10] Amen. Let's stand together and sing the hymn, How Deep the Father's Love for Us.

[00:31:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:31:06] recorded of the 10 plagues in Egypt that are recorded in the Exodus, but he did not record

[00:35:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:35:47] one of them. And it was the 10th plague, the night that God said that the death angel would come, and if the Jews put the blood of a lamb on the doorpost and would stay in the room
[00:36:08] and eat that lamb with their sandals on, their rods in their hand, he said the death angel would pass over. And so they did. And that night, the homes that did not have the blood on the doorpost
[00:36:26] were visited, and all the firstborn of Egypt were killed. And that very night, the children of Israel were redeemed and they went out in the exodus into the wilderness.
[00:36:45] And of course, the reason why Muslims don't talk about the 10th plague is because it perfectly pictured what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would do nearly 2,000 years later. Jesus, remember in John 6 said if you would be my disciple you must eat my flesh and drink my
[00:37:08] blood just like the children of Israel were told to eat that Passover lamb behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and so it's no coincidence that the very night that Jesus was
[00:37:24] betrayed, he celebrated the Passover meal. And at that meal, he took the bread and he broke it and said, this is my body, which is given for you. In other words, I'm the lamb that's given for you.
[00:37:41] He took the cup and he said, this is my blood, which is given for you. In other words, this is the sanctifying blood that is put on the post in which God's wrath passes over. And it pictured
[00:37:55] what Jesus would accomplish for us on the cross. His body given for us. His blood poured out for us. So all those who are underneath the body and the blood, the wrath of God passes over.
[00:38:12] And so the key question is, are you underneath the blood and body of Jesus Christ? Because that is the only way that the wrath of God does not remain upon you and the only way to be clothed
[00:38:29] in the blood of Jesus Christ in the life of Jesus Christ as we said in the catechism is by faith alone trusting in Jesus Christ and not your works and so Jesus instituted this new covenant mill
[00:38:45] for all those who repent of their sins and believe the gospel and trust Christ in faith.
[00:38:51] So if you have believed the gospel, we invite you to partake of this meal joyfully.
[00:38:58] However, if you have not yet trusted Jesus Christ, if you are still skeptical about the claims of Jesus and you know this in your heart, we ask that you refrain from taking part in this meal.
[00:39:11] Of course, we would love for you to take part in the Lord's Supper.
[00:39:13] We would love for you to receive Jesus Christ, to enter into the kingdom of God, to be clothed with his righteousness and his blood. But this meal is for the believer, and it is a time in
[00:39:27] which we sanctify ourselves to our master. So now let's go to the throne of grace in prayer. I'm going to give you time to silently confess your sins and endeavor to live for his glory. Do that
[00:39:42] now. Lord, we thank you for the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The grace of God has appeared in history in the God-man, Jesus Christ, sent to save his people from their sins. We thank you for this
[00:40:13] sacrifice, perfect sacrifice made 2,000 years ago, which completed the salvation of your people.
[00:40:23] Lord, we are so thankful. We are so thankful for grace, so thankful for mercy. Lord, what would we do without the blessings of God because we know that apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ no
[00:40:37] one could stand before you so Lord we come to this table with a heart of thankfulness a heart of gratitude we're so thankful we're so thankful for for the grace that we've been given and we also
[00:40:50] come with a renewed zeal to live for your glory and your honor not out of a desire to earn our salvation but because we've received this glorious salvation Lord may we put the deeds of the flesh
[00:41:03] to death, and by your Holy Spirit, may we live. We pray this for Christ's sake. Amen. Now our deacons are going to come, and they will distribute the elements. We ask that you wait to partake of the

[00:41:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:41:21] elements together. That Passover night, Jesus took the bread and he broke it. He said, this is my

[00:47:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:47:14] body. Take and eat. Then he took the cup. He said, this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.
[00:47:32] take and drink for as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the lord's death until he comes thanks be to god

[00:47:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:47:46] let's stand together let's sing of the all-sufficient of jesus

[00:47:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:47:55] heavenly father would you now instruct us through your word

[00:54:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:54:06] would you speak through me now in the power of your holy spirit in christ's name amen i invite you to open your bibles to titus chapter 2. We're doing a series within a series in Titus 2 called the culture of the kingdom.
[00:54:24] So let me read to you the chapter verses 1 to 15. But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love and in steadfastness. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior,
[00:54:46] not slanders or slaves to much wine. They're to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise,
[00:55:05] urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Bond servants are
[00:55:23] to be submissive to their own masters in everything. They are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation
[00:55:42] for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to
[00:56:00] redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. This is God's holy word. Now, what Paul is doing with Titus, remember Paul is on that
[00:56:23] long island in the Mediterranean. He visited it called Crete, and he left Titus instructions to put the churches in Crete into order. In chapter one, focused on the leadership that was to be in those churches and to address false teachers that were in those churches. In chapter two,
[00:56:44] he moves to implore Titus to begin to work to develop a kingdom culture within each of those churches. Now, that word culture is not found anywhere in Titus 2, but where we're getting that is a culture, by definition, is the behavior, the beliefs, the actions of the cult, the people.
[00:57:04] And so if you look carefully, that's exactly what Paul is instructing Titus to do in Titus 2. He's instructing them to implore them to certain character qualities, so on and so forth. So we've looked at four artifacts of a kingdom culture, and they are Christ-like leaders, Christ-like
[00:57:26] character, Christ-like training, and the grace of God, which fuels all of it. Those four components make up a Christ-like culture within every church. So if you're visiting a church, if God moves you from here, what you are to look for in a church are those four elements. Now we've
[00:57:48] studied Christlike leadership. We looked at that last week. This week we're going to begin looking at the Christlike character of the people that should be within a church. And before we launch into, you know, you look here in verses 2 and 3 and 6 and 7, addressing the older men, the older
[00:58:10] women, the younger men, the younger women. Before we get into the specifics, let me first make some general observations that will frame the character that we're looking at. First observation, general observation. The character of those in the church clearly demonstrates that they are citizens of the
[00:58:34] kingdom of God. That should be true. In other words, if you are a Christian, you should live differently than the world. Look at verse 12. It's very clear. The grace of God trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives
[00:59:00] in the present age. Paul describes the present age in 2 Corinthians 4 as being the age of the devil, that the devil is the God of this age. The evil age is where we live. We are to live
[00:59:14] godly lives in that age. We are to be different. That's the first observation. The second observation is that the purpose of Christ's death was to redeem a distinct people. Look at verse 14 now.
[00:59:31] Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and listen to this language to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works you see when Christ
[00:59:49] died for you he didn't die just to save you from hell he died to make you holy that's why in Ephesians 5, Paul calls the church the bride. We are to be spotless. We are, it's a new exodus,
[01:00:04] isn't it? We're called out of the bondage of sin and death to live for God, just like the people of Israel were called out of the bondage of Egypt. But this is an important reality in Paul's
[01:00:19] theology. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6, 19, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own. You were bought with a price.
[01:00:32] So glorify God with your body. So Christ died to redeem us. You're not born a Christian. I know I say that so often. If you look over in chapter 3, listen to this. Look at verse 3.
[01:00:56] we ourselves were once foolish disobedient led astray slaves to various passions and pleasures passing our days in malice and envy hated by others and hating one another but isn't that a great but but when the goodness and loving kindness of god our savior appeared he saved us
[01:01:26] he saved us for the purpose of holiness and this leads to the third observation when you become a Christian an experiential change takes place in your life so Jesus died to enact this change in your life but it's not just an intellectual ascent to the truth of the
[01:01:53] gospel, there's a change that happens in you and through you where it seems like you're a different person. I was talking to one gal one time. She said, after I became a Christian, it's like I
[01:02:07] walked outside and even the stars were brighter. And there's a sense where that's true. Do you remember Paul said, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new
[01:02:21] has come. Now, if you look at this language in verse 5 of chapter 3, look at this. He saved us.
[01:02:35] Jesus saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness. That's faith alone, right? Not by our own works. But according to his own mercy, look at this, this is how he experientially saved
[01:02:49] you. This is how he applied Christ's work to your life, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Those are very important phrases. And what Paul is doing there is he's drawing on a picture that was painted by the prophets of the Old Testament, where they prophesied
[01:03:12] that there would be a new covenant enacted by the Messiah. Don't turn there, but jot it down and listen this is Ezekiel from Ezekiel 36 listen the prophet says I will sprinkle clean water on you
[01:03:28] and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness what does that sound like the washing of regeneration doesn't it from all your idols I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove the heart of stone from
[01:03:46] your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey all my rules. You remember Jesus with Nicodemus,
[01:04:02] what must I do to be saved? Nicodemus asked, what about the kingdom of God? Jesus says, unless you are born of water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.
[01:04:21] If you look at verse 5 of Titus 3, that's Paul's theology as well. He is saying, unless you are born by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, you are not saved. So what
[01:04:34] happens when you become a believer is the holy spirit does an inside work a new covenant work where he gives you new affections a new heart that thinks god's thoughts after him paul calls it in first corinthians 2 the mind of christ we have the mind of christ a new heart new mind and
[01:04:58] he says very clearly that every single believer is baptized with the Holy Spirit. There's not some future baptism that you're awaiting to receive the Holy Spirit. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, for in one spirit we were all baptized into one body. If you are a Christian,
[01:05:18] you have been baptized and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1, 13, in him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. So there's an experiential change that takes place in your life.
[01:05:45] That's the third observation. The fourth observation, and this comes directly from the third, therefore if you look carefully at the imperatives in Titus chapter 2 the imperatives are not just something to do but someone to become so important that you understand that we're not going for
[01:06:16] behavioral modification that's what the cults do that's what the false religions do we're going for transformation in Christ. And you notice in Titus 2, it's remarkable. The verbs are all being verbs.
[01:06:35] Present tense, you are to be this. It's not just that you are to go do this, get hyped up and get motivated by some motivational speaker and go do it. No, he says you're to be this. You are to be
[01:06:49] sober-minded, dignified. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent. It's not that you act reverent, it's that you become reverent. Isn't that amazing? Christianity transforms your life and changes who you become. Christianity is about becoming Christ-like and not just doing
[01:07:14] Christ-like things. Isn't that what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount? He said, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the meek. It's not just those who act meek. It's not just those who act like they hunger and thirst for righteousness. We've
[01:07:32] got plenty of those people in the church, I promise you. Plenty of those people in the culture that are pretending to be morally righteous. No, you are righteous. Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of God. That's a reality
[01:07:50] because God gives you this righteousness in your heart and changes you. It's amazing. Fifth observation, and this is controversial, incredibly controversial, but it's wonderful. Christ's likeness looks slightly different based on our God-given sex and situation. In modern evangelicalism,
[01:08:20] so many people say sanctification is the same exact same for everyone and it looks exactly the same there's no different paul begs to differ paul gives specific instructions notice this it's amazing older men verse two older women verse three younger women verse four and five younger
[01:08:48] men verse 6 bond servants verses 9 and 10 then of course he's addressing Titus as well as we've seen as as we've looked at and so there's different components to what sanctification looks like and in our culture everything screams everything has to be the same it's this idea of equity that
[01:09:17] everything is exactly the same for everyone. That's not what Paul is saying at all. He's saying, no, based on your God-given gender and station, your sanctification will look a little differently than others. In our culture, what has happened is Satan has mounted
[01:09:45] a counter-offensive, a battle of the bulge, and it's called post-modernity. Post-modernity says there are no truth, there's no absolute truth, there are no distinctions. In fact, if you acknowledge distinctions, it's repressive, and it keeps me from accomplishing what I want to
[01:10:09] accomplish, including the distinctions of gender and sexuality. Carl Truman wrote a book called The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.
[01:10:18] He said, The intuitive moral structure of our modern social imaginary prioritizes victimhood, sees selfhood in psychological terms, regards traditional sexual codes as oppressive and life-denying, and places a premium on the individual's right, listen to this,
[01:10:41] to define his or her own existence.
[01:10:47] All these things play into legitimizing and strengthening those groups that can define themselves in such terms. They capture, one might say, the spirit of the age.
[01:11:00] Well, Paul is calling us to a different age, the age of the kingdom of God, and he's saying being an older man is good. Being an older woman is good. Being a young man is good. Being a younger
[01:11:14] woman is good. Even if you're called to be in a station of being a servant, you're to do so in a way that adorns the doctrine of God, he says. So it's important that we understand that there's
[01:11:29] distinctions in how this Christian character will flesh out in Titus chapter 2. So this morning, with the remainder of our time, we're going to look at just the older men. This is a Father's message come early. All right, we're just going to look at verse 2, the older men. So that phrase,
[01:12:00] it's for older men, single word. It's a similar word to presbyteros, the word where we get the elder. It simply means the old men. I looked it up in the lexicon this week, and it described
[01:12:18] on average a male between the ages of 50 and 56. So if that's you, you are an old man. And if you are over 56, you're an ancient man. So here we go. Older men. And you'll notice, and we're just
[01:12:45] going to look at these very briefly. There are six qualities that Paul describes older men with.
[01:12:55] Sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and steadfastness. Let's look at these. So, sober-minded. Its most basic meaning speaks to a mind that is not dissipated by alcohol.
[01:13:17] The same word is used in 1 Timothy 3 to describe an elder. An elder is called to be sober-minded.
[01:13:25] On the island of Crete, there was a Roman god, Dionysius, and people would have these pagan feasts. Really, they were just episodes of debauchery, and they would get drunk. And so drunkenness was part and parcel with pagan idolatry. And I think similarly in our day and age,
[01:13:49] If you go to the bar scene in New York or here in Raleigh, what takes place where the consumption of alcohol takes place?
[01:13:59] I'm not saying that drinking alcohol is necessarily sin, but by and large, the culture that surrounds alcohol is a culture associated with licentiousness, with dissipation, worldliness.
[01:14:14] And when you take part in that culture, you become numb in your moral decision-making.
[01:14:23] And so Paul is saying you must avoid that at the most basic level.
[01:14:27] But positively, being sober-minded is more than just avoiding drunkenness.
[01:14:34] It means a mind that is alert, a mind that is attentive.
[01:14:41] now this word is used for example in first peter 4 7 peter says the end of all things is at hand therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers so we're exhorted
[01:15:03] to be sober-minded because the lord is returning the end of all things peter says is at hand the end of all things happens when the Lord Jesus returns what happens when the Lord Jesus returns
[01:15:18] Matthew 25 there will be a judgment sheep on the right the goats on the left so Peter says in light of this we must live in light of the second coming and therefore be sober-minded our bridegroom is
[01:15:34] coming so we don't live flippantly we're aware negatively we're told to be sober-minded because our adversary opposes us. 1 Peter 5.8 says, be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. So we are to be aware
[01:16:01] of Satan's schemes. We are to be vigilant. We are to be watchful. How can you grow to be more sober-minded. How do you become more sober-minded? Sober-mindedness comes through the renewal of the mind. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind
[01:16:30] that you may discern what is the perfect will of God. So you must be constantly, daily, hour by hour engaged in renewing your mind. Largely, the battle for the Christian life is waged in the mind. We have to understand this. That's why Paul says, take every thought captive,
[01:16:55] every thought. Don't allow, all the time, I find myself sometimes thinking, something that dishonors the Lord. What do you do in that moment? You repent. You say, I don't need to think about that. Think about whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely,
[01:17:16] excellent, or of good repute. And to do that, you need to be daily in the Word of God.
[01:17:22] What are you watching? What are you intaking? Are you listening to good podcasts, to good preaching?
[01:17:30] Those types of things. You need to be renewing your mind. And what that does is it causes you to be alert. It causes you to be aware of spiritual things when your mind is constantly
[01:17:44] being renewed. So that's the first quality of older men. Second, dignified. Dignified. It describes a man who is worthy of honor and respect. J. Adams, who started the biblical counseling movement translated this word serious. There is a seriousness and a weightiness about
[01:18:15] their lives. This word is, it's the Greek word, simnos, is used to describe deacons and the wives of deacons in 1 Timothy 3. It's a word that is used to describe Titus in verse 7. Show yourself
[01:18:32] in your teaching to show integrity and dignity. There it is. It's a seriousness, a spiritual seriousness. Notice, it's not a gloominess. It doesn't mean that you don't have a sense of humor or that you take yourself seriously. It means that you take the things of God seriously.
[01:18:57] So how does one become dignified? How do you become dignified, older men? And the only way to do this is to spend time with God. The only way to become a dignified man is to spend time
[01:19:19] in the presence of one who is true dignity, to spend time with God. Moses had a gravity and a weightiness about him remember when he came down from the mountain that the light from his
[01:19:34] face shone and that gravity and that weightiness was there because he had spent time with God and every great man in scripture is marked by that one component that they spend time with the Lord. Elijah, Paul had his Arabia, Elisha, the room in the Shunammite woman's house.
[01:20:06] They spend time with the Lord, and then that marks them. A.W. Tozer said this, talking about this serious type of man. He said he differs from the ordinary Orthodox Christian only because he experiences his faith down in the depths of his sentient being while the other
[01:20:31] does not he exists in a world of spiritual reality he is quietly deeply and sometimes almost ecstatically aware of the presence of God in his own nature and in the world around him friends that only happens through prayer prayer is
[01:20:50] is not just asking God for things. Prayer is entering into his presence. Prayer is communing with God. That's why Paul says, pray without ceasing. You are to live the life of God throughout the day
[01:21:08] when you encounter things. God, help me. Use me. Help me to not be afraid. Help me to be strong and courageous. It's this life of God that we are to be engaged in. Tozer goes on to say, his religious
[01:21:22] experience is something elemental, as old as time in the creation. It is immediate acquaintance with God by union with the eternal Son. And that brings this serious-mindedness to your presence.
[01:21:38] there was a great man of God as a boy he went and heard a famous preacher in London named Charles Spurgeon you've probably heard of him and he went to the metropolitan tabernacle with his
[01:21:53] father and after leaving hearing Spurgeon preach he and his father were walking on the road and he said father I'd like to give my life to Christ now and right then and there he knelt down and he
[01:22:08] prayed, and he gave his life to Christ. And that young man then entered school and studied art, became an art teacher, and in November of 1901, he had a dramatic encounter with God.
[01:22:25] Since God calling him to ministry, he became a missionary in Britain, in America, Japan.
[01:22:32] And when World War I happened, he went simply as a chaplain to the soldiers, to the British soldiers in Egypt.
[01:22:41] He developed appendicitis and not wanting to take up a cot for the wounded, he died there in Egypt in 1917.
[01:22:53] His name is Oswald Chambers, and he wrote a book you're probably familiar with, My Upmost for His Highest.
[01:23:02] he actually didn't write it his wife put it together posthumously after he died here's a quote chambers makes the remarkable thing about god is that when you fear god you fear nothing else whereas if you do not fear god you fear everything else that's the serious mindedness
[01:23:30] that we're talking about the dignity that we're talking about and it comes from spending that time with God. Isn't that a great way to live? You fear God and not men. That's how we need to
[01:23:43] live, Christians. Not afraid of our own shadow, afraid of what the news and observer might write about our church, or afraid about what the culture might say. For too long, Christians have been concerned about what the secularists think about us. We need spine in our backbones. We need to
[01:24:05] fear God and not men. Self-controlled, such an important quality. And this quality, we talked about how there's distinctives with older men and older women. This quality should be true of every single Christian, every single Christian. In fact, you notice Paul simply tells the younger
[01:24:29] men to be self-controlled. That's it. Hopefully the younger men will grow into these other qualities he just says to the younger men be self-controlled he tells the younger women to be self-controlled he says in titus 2 12 he says the grace of god teaches us to to live self-controlled
[01:24:49] upright and godly life so this quality is to be true of every single christian and it simply means that you're able to control your desires you're able to control your actions here's the litmus test. Negatively, can you refrain from buying something when you really want it? Can you do it?
[01:25:13] I know it's hard. Can you keep your eyes from looking at someone? Can you do it? And you got to train it. Job, I've made a covenant with my eyes that I will not gaze upon the virgins.
[01:25:31] Can you stop eating? That's an uncomfortable one, especially in Baptist circles.
[01:25:40] Can you keep your tongue from speaking despairingly of others?
[01:25:44] Can you do it?
[01:25:46] I don't care how much theology you know.
[01:25:49] If all you do is speak ill of people, you're not very Christ-like.
[01:25:53] Can you stop coveting what God has given to others?
[01:25:59] These are the basics of self-control and positively.
[01:26:03] Can you prioritize good works in your life?
[01:26:05] Can you prioritize a devotional life?
[01:26:09] Are you staying up at night, just young people playing video games?
[01:26:13] can you prioritize god in your life can you prioritize worship with saints on the lord's day now self-controlled we're all exhorted to do this right here's a little secret this is the key to success in everything this isn't just the key to success in christianity self-control is the key
[01:26:40] to success in everything. You go to the literature at Barnes & Noble talking about leadership and business and all that. There's a book, you'll see it, called Atomic Habits. Anybody seen that book?
[01:26:59] It's basically self-control. Can you develop good habits and can you keep away from bad habits?
[01:27:08] there's another book we were talking about as a staff this week called grit and it's basically can you do things that you started can you finish tasks that you completed or do you you start doing something you forget sometimes walk away that sort of thing can you finish
[01:27:27] what you started this is basic to to finishing things here's the problem why do so many Christians who I believe believe the gospel are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, completely in bondage to various sins. And you're asking yourself, I want to be self-controlled. Why am I not
[01:27:53] self-controlled? Let me give you four quick pieces of advice. To be more self-controlled, first, you must rely on God's power. This is the secret that we have as Christians that the secular world does not understand. They just do behavioral modification, and the issues come
[01:28:21] roaring back. The Christian has God's power, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Paul says, when he talks about the armor of God in Ephesians 6, Ephesians 6.10, he opens it up, and he says,
[01:28:35] finally, brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. That word strong is actually a passive verb, and it means to be strengthened. It's not, oh, I'm, you know, I'm getting strong for Jesus. No, it's to be strengthened in the Lord and in the power of His might.
[01:28:54] And it's not a coincidence that he closes eight verses later saying, pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. The power comes through prayer. And so you will not defeat a sin that you are not praying for god's help to defeat so you begin praying secondly you identify
[01:29:16] that sin and you put it to death in your life you put it to death this is so basic romans 8 13 if you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds
[01:29:30] of the body you will live jesus says if your right hand causes you to stumble cut it off if your right eye causes you to stumble, tear it out. So as you're going through the day and you have various
[01:29:42] sins, think about, why am I doing this? And oftentimes the sinful action is just the tip of the iceberg. Because beneath that lust or beneath that craving is a deeper sin. Pride, selfishness covetousness lack of gratitude and so you you you ask the spirit lord reveal the sin
[01:30:14] in my life and then when it's revealed you put it to death you give no opportunity for the flesh third it's not just not doing things it's putting on christ it's putting on christ this is over and
[01:30:31] over again Colossians 3 12 put on then as God's chosen ones holy and beloved compassionate hearts kindness humility meekness patience bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another forgiving each other Romans 13 14 put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for
[01:30:48] the flesh to gratify its desires so you're doing these positive things am I putting on the armor of God the armor of light am I putting on meekness and humility and sacrificial service am I doing
[01:31:03] these things because oftentimes we get so focused on on trying to prop ourselves up that we forget about other people and God's wanting to do this work of sanctification in us but it has to be a
[01:31:16] positive work as well not just I'm going to stop doing something and then fourth and this goes back to being sober minded is that the mind must be constantly being renewed the battle again hear
[01:31:32] me say this is in the mind so you want to have scripture at your disposal memorize scripture meditate on it listen to what Paul says to set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the
[01:31:45] mind on the spirit is life and peace it's in the mind and I might add a fifth one this is a bonus is walk in fellowship and accountability with other Christians. If you have a sin issue that
[01:31:59] you cannot get to the bottom of, now you need to go to a trusted brother or sister, a brother if you're a man, a sister if you're a woman, say, what do you see in my life? I need accountability.
[01:32:14] If you're enslaved to a sin, brother or sister, you need to do these things to pursue being self-controlled. Fifth, sound in their faith. Sorry, fourth, sound in their faith. Wow. Okay, so older men, sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith. Notice this
[01:32:43] phrase, sound in, that phrase goes with the others. Sound in faith, sound in love, sound in steadfastness.
[01:32:53] That phrase, healthy, eugynos, where we get our word hygiene, we've talked about this, that goes with all of faith, love, and steadfastness. A sound faith is gauged by two factors. One, the object of of faith, and secondly, the strength of your convictions. First, the object of your faith.
[01:33:17] What do you believe? For this reason, I don't care how sincere a Mormon is, he does not have sound faith. A practicing Roman Catholic does not have sound faith because they deny the very doctrine Paul teaches in this chapter, justification by faith alone. An Orthodox Jew does not have
[01:33:38] sound faith. It doesn't matter how sincere they are because they deny that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. So to have sound faith, the object of your faith of the word. So it matters how we live out
[01:33:51] what we believe. The convictions that we hold must be made manifest in our lives. And a word for this is wisdom is that you know the truth and you also know how to apply the truth fifth sound in their
[01:34:12] love sound in their love this is so important especially for a church like ours that's orthodox in doctrine because what we never want to be is dead orthodoxy where our love for Christ has grown cold. And what Paul is saying is that the older men of all people are to be raised up as
[01:34:34] the examples of those who love Jesus Christ, who love God, who love the church, that their love is to be the example for the church. So similar to faith, our love is gauged scripturally by two
[01:34:52] factors. What we love and the degree that we love it. What we love and the degree that we love it.
[01:35:03] Jesus said, Matthew 22, 37, you shall love the Lord your God. There it is. Who are we to love?
[01:35:09] God. How are we to love him? With all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. We're to love him, and that is to be at the center of our soul, our affections. But sadly, so often we
[01:35:33] love other things, don't we? Jesus said to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2, he says, I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love that you had at first. John said in 1
[01:35:49] John 2 15, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. So you're to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
[01:35:59] your mind. And then moreover, we're to love him with a high affection. Jesus warned that in the last days, which I believe we are in, in Matthew 20, 24, he says, because lawlessness will be
[01:36:17] increased, the love of many will grow cold. The love of many will grow cold. And so friends, especially you older men, you are to stoke and deflame in your soul a zealous love for Jesus
[01:36:37] Christ. It's not unmanly to have affections for Jesus Christ and that we be carried forward.
[01:36:46] We're not just stoically, you know, we're obeying out of duty, but we obey and we live this life out of love for Jesus, love for him. How do you increase that love when you don't feel it?
[01:37:00] how do we how do we stir up these affections and I think scripture is clear is you go back to God's love for you redeeming love will be my theme and shall be till I die this is love not that we love
[01:37:21] God but that he first loved us right we go back again and again and again to this the love of God for us in Christ. And when you go back to the love of God, we have a big view of God's love
[01:37:37] for us in Christ. How can you help but not love him and have those affections for Christ?
[01:37:51] Let me read you what Edwards said about this, Jonathan Edwards, talking about the early Christians. He says, although there was nothing that was seen, in other words, they didn't see Jesus, nothing that the world saw or that the Christians themselves ever saw with their bodily
[01:38:13] eyes that thus influenced and supported them, yet they had a supernatural principle of love to something unseen. They loved Jesus Christ, for they saw him spiritually, whom the world saw not.
[01:38:29] in whom they themselves had never seen with bodily eyes.
[01:38:36] So that's the older man's sound love for Christ.
[01:38:41] It should be true of all of us.
[01:38:44] And then sixth and finally, sound in their steadfastness.
[01:38:50] Sound in their endurance.
[01:38:52] This means their fortitude, their patience, their perseverance.
[01:38:58] The capacity to hold out in the face of opposition.
[01:39:03] Now, I don't want to pick on old people here, but I have seen something, and I've seen it in my own life, okay? So I'm not just, this isn't just a problem out there, it's a problem with me,
[01:39:16] is the older I get, the more I get frustrated when things don't go exactly as how I wanted them to go. When I was younger and things were difficult, lived to see another day, you know, that sort of thing. Things will be better tomorrow. Oh, it's hot, I'm hungry,
[01:39:35] whatever. Now I find myself, if I get up and there's no coffee in the coffee grinder and we're out of coffee, oh, it just frustrates me. Anybody with me? So the older we get, we tend to become less patient, less enduring. Now what Paul is saying, this is why it's so
[01:40:02] counter-cultural, he's saying that the older men are to be the examples of steadfastness.
[01:40:08] That you endure. That you hold up. And the only way to do this is with faith and a trust in the sovereignty of God. Amen? If you don't believe that God is sovereign over all of your circumstances,
[01:40:24] everything that happens, that he works all things according to the counsel of your will, when you get that bunion, when you get that pain in your back, you will react in a negative way.
[01:40:37] But if you believe that all of these things are orchestrated by a sovereign God, you have faith that he's working it for your good, you will be steadfast. You will hold firm.
[01:40:48] You will hold the line. And what Paul is saying is that as an older man is what you are to be an example of not the complainer not the grumbler not the one who's saying oh woe is me but you are
[01:41:02] to show us what it means to be steadfast and persevering so if you look at the whole picture let's look at the whole picture sober-minded dignified self-controlled sound in faith they believe the right things they have convictions about them sound in love they love god they love
[01:41:22] the church, they love the word, they love their neighbor, and their affections are zealous and then steadfastness. They're sound and they're steadfastness. They're patient, they're enduring, and they are a model for all of us in how to be patient through trials. And again, let's end
[01:41:42] where we began. How does this all work? It works by the grace of God, the power of Christ in you.
[01:41:51] praise be to him lord jesus we thank you for redeeming us from all lawlessness training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age we thank you for drawing us from the kingdom of darkness into the
[01:42:16] kingdom of your son lord we pray for the older men lord may the older men within our midst be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, sound in love, sound in steadfastness. May they be an example to all of us. May they be the bulwark of this church. May they be zealous for
[01:42:35] Christ. May they believe sound doctrine and have great convictions in their belief. Lord, do this work within our midst. We pray this for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's stand together as we sing before

[01:42:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:42:51] the throne of God above. Bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness

[01:46:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:46:57] and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.